The change of scenery has helped Carlos Zambrano considerably more than Chris Volstad. Zambrano opens this weekend’s interleague series against the Indians with a 1.88 ERA and looking for his seventh consecutive quality start. Meanwhile, the Cubs on Friday demoted Volstad to Triple-A Iowa.

Volstad is 0-6 with a 7.46 ERA and the Cubs are winless in his eight stars. Zambrano can boast the fourth-best ERA among qualifying National League starters. Volstad’s mark ranks last out of 67 qualifying starters. He has lost 11 consecutive decisions dating back to last year. Volstad’s last win: July 10, 2011 against the Astros.

Comments (15 Comments)

Sure the Cubs are paying most of Zambrano’s contract…..but Zambrano was a cancer in the clubhouse, and he needed to go….only the Marlins wanted him…..yes, Zambrano is doing good, but if loses 5 in a row, or goes off on a team mate, Juan and others will then have a different view……meanwhile, Marlins have Zambrano only for this year…unless they want to extend Zambrano’s contract for two more years at $16 million per year………..while Volstad is under Cubs control for a few more seasons……Volstad is young, and will turn it around……can’t judge a trade after a few months, but in the long term……

take example of these other Marlin trades…..

We can now judge the trade of Miguel Cabrera… a future HOF given away for nothing by the Marlins……

Trevor Hoffman, another young Marlin, who was traded away only to become a future HOF ……..

can never judge a trade in a short term…….of all people, Juan should know that!

He’s a different Zambrano with us, Cubs Talk. He’s made peace with his demons as a part of the Marlins, under Ozzie Guillen, and after finding God. Zambrano won’t lose five games in a row or go off on a teammate. It won’t happen. Similarly, Volstad will not turn around. It won’t happen. The Marlins gave him many chances. The Cubs gave him a chance. The difference is that while the Marlins were willing to throw away a season with Volstad, enduring more losses than five from him, the Cubs lost patience with Volstad by mid-May.

How about that Heat team!…..or lack of it…..After Indiana knocks out the Heat….watch Pat Riley trade away D-Wade….and maybe Bosh also…..then go after Howard….bad back and all………but the Heat still need a team to build around LaChoke……

I feel sorry for the Heat coach…all the macho crap he has to take from Wade and LaChoke……..we all know in Chicago how much much of a “Prick” Wade is……

MJ never got into Phil Jackson’s face…..he might have punched out Kerr’s face during practice…..

Your “IF’s” do NOT matter at this point. Those IF’s could never happen.
The unarguable point is the Zambrano/Volstad trade IS a steal for the Marlins. NO if’s, ands, nor buts about it. Volstad had never come close to reaching his potential. That still holds true this very minute, hence his demotion to Triple A. Long term/short term, it’s not going to change unless someone stumbles upon a secret to change Volstad into the pitcher he was always projected to be.

CubsFan, you keep focusing on the “IF.” I understand that being a Cubbies fan, you really have nothing else to hang hopes for your team on. However, maybe it’s just time to start rooting for a REAL baseball team like … well, almost any other except for the Cubs?

Henry Goldfart…..what is this about the Heat skipping practice and the media today?…..why can’t the Heat work out their problems?……is the Heat planning another pep rally foe the fans ?…or are the fans in line to buy Pepto-Bismol after the Heat get their a** kicked?…there will be no NBA championship parade down Biscayne Bay Blvd again this year…….ESPN Stephen A. Smith is saying Wade will soon be gone after the playoffs end for the Heat.

We traded away a terrible pitcher and acquired one with a successful past and was once a legit ace in this league. All while only paying a measly 3 million for a guy that has the fourth best ERA in the NL. Did you not read the post Cubs Talk? Cubs have lost all eight games that Volstad has started and the dude has an 0-6 record with that terrible ERA. This isn’t the Cubs team losing games for him. It’s him losing the games for the Cubs.

What else do you want for this to be a steal? If the Fish had to pay all of Z’s contract, then I agree it’d be whatever. But the Cubs are picking up the tab on a guy that no longer pitches for them that could really help them. He was a cancer for that team, but with his new found love for Christ and religion (which is great for him by the way. Nothing like religion to really sooth the mind and person in general) I’m wondering if perhaps he would’ve been this cool in Chicago anyway.

With fans like Cubs Talk, no way he stays this cool in Chicago. Cubs Talk keeps insisting that Zambrano will go crazy if he forgets to take his meds. The reality is that there are no meds. He found peace through God and that’s a med you can’t skip. Big Z is playing in a beautiful new stadium instead of the old dump that Cubs ownership are begging the city to give them $100M to renovate. Big Z is playing for a team that’s staying competitive in the toughest division in baseball. Big Z has real fans and a real manager now, something he could never get from Chicago and from fans like Cubs Talk.

Volstad and Sean “Slovenly Cajun” West, now there are 2 wasted #1 picks. By the way, what ever happened to good old Logan Kensing? I used to think his little “stroll” around the mound was hysterical. Let’s also not forget Brett Carroll who they went way TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! long with and how they mistreated deAza who is now a very functional leadoff hitter and CF for the White Sox. Love Ozzie and I’m betting it’s eating him up to shove Buck out there every night.And it’s obvious we will get no helf from # 6 Overall Pick Kyle Skipworth who is tearing it up at .175 for Jacksonville. They have actually “rushed” Skipworth to Double A out of desperation just to see if he will ever do anything. At least Greensboro is tearing it up and watch Ozuna at Jupiter, he has actually been lost with the Yelich conversation. Would love to have a catcher and the Tigers have about 4 of them who will play in the Bigs eventually. i would love to see something worked outs. Tigs desperately need a 2B but i don’t see a match.

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About the author

JUAN C. RODRIGUEZ
My career covering the Marlins has been all about good timing. At Florida Today, I became the...